Sermon; Lent 5A; Ezekiel 37:1-14

A former parishioner once referred to this Sunday as, “The Sunday of the Holy Zombies.” She may not be wrong, what with the reanimation of dry bones in Ezekiel and the raising of Lazarus in the gospel. And once again the Lectionary reflects the world, because it does seem like the COVID-19 pandemic has surrounded us with the dead and dying. Which is why I was especially drawn to the reading from Ezekiel this week.

Today we get one of the most famous visions in the Bible – the valley of dry bones. Ezekiel is told to prophesy to the valley of dry bones by saying, “Thus says the Lord: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live.” As he's prophesying the bones come together and flesh and skin cover them. Finally breath entered into them and they lived. The breath of God entered the reconstituted bodies and they lived.

I think we may be approaching the conditions of those bones – unattached, detached, dried out, and out of breath. That is, if we aren't there already. Schools here in Maryland are closed for another month. Non-essential businesses are closed. People are out of work, some unable to collect unemployment. Physically distancing ourselves from each other as we try to stem the tide may last well into June or July. It seems we are becoming more unattached, detached, dried out, and breathless every day.

Like the bones, we too may cry out, “We are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” For people isolated at home who may be working from there or, if they have children, may be teaching from there, it can feel like you have dried up. We need a variety of outlets and stimuli to keep our creativity going, to keep our juices flowing, so to speak. Yet here we are, day after day after day after day after day. We are dried up. Hope is lost. We have been cut off completely.

But we live a faith based in hope. We are essentially living in Holy Saturday – that time between the crucifixion and the Resurrection. In this time, we hope the message of the gospel is True. And as we live into that hope, we see signs all around that point to its truth, thereby strengthening our faith. Hope is not lost.

Like the bones, we too may cry out, “We are cut off completely.” In this period of social distancing it certainly seems like we have been cut off. Barred from church, clubs, restaurants, schools, and any other social setting you can think of, we can feel isolated and alone, cut off completely.

But we are not cut off completely. Worship services like this one are connecting people of faith across the internet and world. We have instituted a phone tree of sorts so that each of our parishioners receives a phone call about once a week. Our bishop has taken to calling this time “compassionate distancing and social connectivity.” In other words, keeping our physical distances in compassion for our neighbor but maintaining our social connections. And, in a weird twist, I have been asked to play more “Words with Friends” games from people I don't know than ever before.

We have not been cut off completely.

“I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live.” Spirit and breath are interchangeable. “In the beginning, the Spirit of God hovered over the waters. And God said . . .” In order to speak, you must have breath. God breathed into existence. God spoke. When God made the covenant with Abram, God put his Spirit in him and he became Abraham. When God breathed into the bones, when God's Spirit entered the bones, they lived.

We need to remember that God's Spirit dwells within us. At the very least, we were sealed with the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ's own for ever at our baptism. It is more imperative than ever before that we remember that we are filled with the breath of God, that we are filled with God's Holy Spirit.

This breath of God will help us breath in difficult places and times. This breath of God will give us the strength, like Abraham, to venture into unknown territories. This Spirit of God will fill our being and provide us the the strength to say, “Your will be done.”

We are tired. We are dried up. We are unattached and detached. But we also live in hope of the power of God. God has the power to refresh us. God has the power to quench our thirst. In God and through God we are able to remain attached and connected to each other and to God. And we can do this because, like the dry bones, we have been filled with the Spirit and breath of God.

Today is the Feast of the Holy Zombies, so to speak. Rather than focus on the feelings of weariness, hopelessness, and separation, let us look for ways the Spirit is breathing life into us. Let us look for ways we are being revived and connected. And when we begin to feel like we're scattered in a field of dry bones, let us pray, “Breathe on me, Breath of God, fill me with life anew,” and take a moment to do just that – to breathe.

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.